Volleyball Collects Second Road Win of the Weekend at Providence, 3-1

Saturday, October 10

Providence, RI

3 p.m.

St. John's University

15-4,5-1Big East

Providence

9-8,1-5Big East

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
St. John's (NY)	25	21	25	25	3
Providence	15	25	23	23	1

The St. John’s volleyball team concluded the first week of BIG EAST play by going toe-to-toe with No. 25 Creighton in Queens on Saturday evening, ultimately coming up short, 3-1.

Photo by: Vincent Dusovic

Volleyball Collects Second Road Win of the Weekend at Providence, 3-1

10/10/2026 5:42:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Red Storm served a season-best 13 aces against the Friars

PROVIDENCE – St. John's Volleyball earned a hard-fought road victory on Saturday afternoon, taking down Providence in Friartown in a 3-1 decision. The Red Storm has won nine of its last 10 matches against the Friars and hasn't lost in Alumni Hall since 2016.

After taking the first set handily, St. John's (15-4, 5-1 BIG EAST) had to fight for the final pair of sets against a pesky Providence (9-8, 1-5 BIG EAST) defensive front. The set scores were 25-15, 21-25, 25-23 and 25-23.

"Great teams know how to close out matches, and today I'm proud of my team for understanding the assignment," said Head Coach Joanne Persico. "The girls came up big when big players were needed."

Eight Johnnies tallied kills on the afternoon for a team total of 54. The Red Storm served a season-high 13 aces.

Lejla Hadziredzepovic led all players with 16 kills. She was followed by Carola Tesoro who turned in her eighth double-double of the season with 11 kills and 11 digs. Chloe Bell added nine kills and Soheila Cirelli fired six. Martina Capponcelli dished out a match-high 21 assists and was trailed by Maggie Carcillo with 18. Rashanny Solano Smith collected 19 digs and added nine assists to her stat line.

St. John's took control of the opening set early, going ahead by six at 10-4. The Johnnies continued to press on through the media timeout at 15-7, and the lead bubbled to double digits at 20-10 with the visitors in the red zone. The pair of teams went on to exchange points in the late stages as St. John's grabbed the opening set 25-15.

Providence settled in over the course of the second frame, taking the lead early at 8-6 to force a St. John's timeout. The Friars' lead bubbled to five after a 5-1 run to give them a 15-10 advantage. Both teams wouldn't give an inch in the middle portion of the frame, but after a pair of tallies by St. John's, Providence called timeout at 19-16. The Johnnies attempted to make a push late, but the Friars were able to hold off the offensive to take the second set 25-21 and level the match at one.

Both teams went back and forth to start game three, with St. John's grasping onto a two-tally lead at 9-7. The Red Storm was able to build a four-point cushion, but Providence clawed back to tie the set at 12-12. From there on, both teams would exchange points all the way to 23-22 in favor of the visitors. St. John's snapped a quick 2-1 swing to grab the third game, 25-23, and a 2-1 match lead.

The fourth set continued the back-and-forth theme, but after the Friars took a brief lead at 8-6, the Johnnies ripped off a 7-1 run to take the lead at 13-9. Both teams battled to the media timeout with St. John's ahead 15-11. The Red Storm offense continued to flow and went up by as many as five at 19-14. Providence didn't back down and cut the lead to three with both teams in the red zone at 23-20. After Hadziredzepovic triggered match point for St. John's, the Friars were able to fire off three straight to make it 24-23. But once again, Hadziredzepovic laced a ball cross court to ice the set at 25-23 and the match, 3-1.

The Red Storm is back in action next week in Queens to end the first half of the BIG EAST schedule. St. John's will welcome Marquette on Friday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. On Sunday, the top pair of teams in the conference will square off as DePaul comes to Carnesecca Arena for a 2 p.m. first serve.